19th Century England

1. 19th Century England An Overview

2. The Industrial Revolution in England • The Industrial Revolution increased productivity and standard of living • People had new opportunities, knowledge, and physical means • "the Industrial Revolution was no mere sequence of changes in industrial techniques and production, but a social revolution with social causes as well as profound social effects" [The Origins of Modern English Society, 1780-1880 (1969)]

3. A Time of Invention • Steamboat (Henry Bell, 1811) • Steam locomotive (George Trevithick, 1801) • Gas mines (1812) • Newspaper (The Times, November 29, 1814) • Road improvements (Thomas Telford and John Loudon Macadam, 1815) • Public railways (George Stephenson, 1820) • To learn more about transportation during the period go to http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article033.html

4. Socioeconomic & Cultural Change • Growth of cities: huge numbers of houses, overcrowded and unhealthy – cholera spread through dirty water • Many people were driven to the cities to look for work • Small children worked in factories for long days

5. Dangers & Punishment • Children who worked long hours in the textile mills became very tired • Children who were late for work were severely punished • Children were usually hit with a strap to make them work faster • Children were also punished for arriving late for work and for talking to the other children

6. Child Labor Laws • The first Factory Act passed by the British Parliament was called "The Factory Health and Morals Act, 1802" and applied principally to children and female workers. • The regulations, briefly stated, were the followings: • The master or mistress of the factory must obey the law • All rooms in a factory are to be washed twice a year and well ventilated • Every worker is to be supplied with two complete suits of clothing, stockings, hats, and shoes • The hours of work are not to exceed twelve a day • Male and female workers are to be provided with separate sleeping apartments, and not more than two to sleep in one bed • On Sunday they are to be instructed in the principles of the Christian religion

7. The Middle Class • Industry, job opportunities, increased wages, and vision created a new class: the middle class • This group consisted of factory owners, bankers, shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers, engineers, and other professionals • The new class was gaining power through economic and social means, not because of inherited titles or lands • The middle class was also sensitive to fashion

8. Another Story in the 19th Century:Great Hunger • People lived in Ireland depended on potatoes • 1845 – 1849: a fungus affected the potato crop in Southern England and Ireland-- a famine struck Ireland • The situation was made worse by the Corn Law: taxing imported corn by British • Thousand Irish emigrated to the U.S.

9. Read the chapter(s) in your module about this age. • Answer each question provided there in your group. • Submit it on my desk. GOOD LUCK